Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Breathe

AHHHH OK so WORK thought it would be beneficial to offer a stress releving and breathing class today. I had a deadline that I had to make so I rushed (added stress) then went to the class and "released" it. Except now I am stressing out even more. Apparently I eat "dirty" not "clean" because I eat man made products not only natural stuff. I also have "stale" air in my lungs because I do not practice deep breathing on a regular basis. AND did you know that you only breathe through one nostril at a time? The nostril you breathe out of indicated the hemisphere of your brain that you are using. I only use the "left hemisphere" AKA logic, analysis, STRESS. "Right hemisphere" channels creativity, arts, relaxation. By telling me this... my stupid "left brained" self over analyzed it and is stressing out... go figure.

According to this "Harvard Mental Health Letter" I recieved at the meeting/class thing, taking two 90 minute yoga classes a week for 3 moths can minimize emotional distress by at least half of the level before yoga. "At the end of the three months, women in the yoga group reported improvements in percieved stress, depression, anxiety, energy, fatigue, and well being. Depression scores improved by 50%, anxiety scores by 30%, and overall well-being scores by 65%." The claimed benefits of controlled breathing are very bold, such as pulling hositalized depression patients into remission after 4 weeks of 30 min. of deep breathing 6 times a week.

I can really only get myself to focus on yoga when I am in a studio. Bikram yoga is great because I love being in a sauna and bikram yoga is in a 90 degree (or hotter) room so I LOVE IT and you get deeper into poses. The only problem is it is expensive and hard to get yourself to go into a crazy hot room for 90 minutes, but if you can get there you will feel good after.

I tend to set all these goals and never follow through with anything which is why this blog is beneficial to me because I can pledge these goals here and feel like a failure if I do not follow through. Now I am trying to find my way in the world of exercise. I love dance so I am debating purchasing the following DVDs. Please let me know if you have tried/heard of anything about them to help me narrow down my choices.

Graceful:
Patricia Moreno's Yoga Dance Fusion
New York City Ballet (Two Workouts)
Balocity: Cardio with a Classic Twist
10 Minute Solution Pilates Perfect Body
AM Yoga for Your Week with Rodney Yee

Ass Kicking:
Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred
Results: 10 Days to a Better Body
The Firm: The 500 Calorie Workout
10 Minute Solution: Knockout Body! Kit
Kelly Coffey's 30 Min. to Fitness: Bootcamp

So I will find my inner exercise lover by changing up my routines. I need to make sure I do not stick to one type of excercise because this is when I fall into a slump, quit working for a year, hate myself, start back up. Time to take a step back, BREATHE, and figure out a brand new routine for after my race (about 3 weeks away)!

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